NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM, 93.1 FM & WNWS.COM visited with Dr. Jimmy Hoppers, Physicians Quality Care, for a question & answer session to discuss COVID-19 – mask mandates,

Question: First a little background on yourself – where you are originally from, education, how long have you been practicing medicine?

Answer: I am a Jackson native and a graduate of Jackson High School. I have a Bachelor of Science from UT Martin and an MD from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. I did my residency at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital and am board certified in pediatrics.

Around 25 years ago I began to gravitate toward more general medicine, having worked in emergency departments at LeBonheur, Baptist Hospital in Memphis, and Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. Physicians Quality Care was opened August 18, 2008 where I have been ever since.

Question: Tell us about the ‘Think Tank’ you started – purpose, how many people are participating, background of individuals?

Answer: The “think tank” is nothing more than a group of concerned citizens who are dismayed at the lack of transparency in government’s decision making process concerning this pandemic.

No data is provided and when honest questions have been asked they are typically met with derision. Our group consists of business owners, a high-ranking officer in local law enforcement, a former Jackson city councilman, several physicians, several social workers, an engineer, a university professor, and others.

We are looking at five basic aspects of local government’s response: 1) The current misuse and misunderstanding of the PCR (COVID-19) test 2) What is the end game – how will this pandemic end? 3) Are masks, social distancing, and enforced societal upheaval accomplishing what government alleges? 4) What are the legal aspects of this – has government overstepped its authority – is any of this legally enforceable? 5) who is actually at risk – have the statistics been manipulated? (As of this writing a story has just broken concerning suppression of favorable numbers by the Nashville/Davidson County Health Department).

Question: The mask mandate in Jackson & Madison County continues. How effective do you believe face masks have been?

Answer: This is a complex question that deserves more than a simple answer, and the answer needs to be scientifically based and not politically driven.

We need to have a serious conversation about the efficacy (desired or intened result) of universal masking. Without getting too far into the weeds, the first question to ask is whether government understands the difference in spread by droplets and spread by aerosol. By definition, droplets involve moisture. If you can’t feel it, it’s not a droplet.

Aerosols on the other hand are suspension of microscopic particles in a gas. A mask may prevent droplet spread but the pores in a mask are at a minimum 50X the size of the virus.
Additionally, studies that show the efficacy of mask use are done in controlled settings such as an operating room. The next time you are in a store watch carefully how masks are worn. Many are below the nose or on the chin. People are continually touching them or outright taking them off. This essentially renders the mask useless.

There is a time and a place where certain individuals may benefit from wearing a mask but universal masking is uncalled for. Not to get too far down the rabbit hole but a study from the Institutes of Public Health in Norway presumed 20% of people are asymptomatic carriers and that mask wearing reduced the risk of personal infection by 40%. Using this hypothesis they statistically calculated that it would take 200,000 individuals wearing a mask 24/7 to prevent one new COVID infection per week. Madison County has 100,000 people; Gibson County 50,000. You do the math.

Question: In your discussion or personal studies about COVID-19, do you have any conclusions you have developed?

Answer: How long do I have? I’m not sure if local government really doesn’t understand the ins and outs of the problem so they are forced to speak in platitudes and soundbites, or if they feel their authority and credibility are such that they don’t have to defend their position.

Do they understand that the PCR test is worthless for determining whether a person is actively infected and whether that person is contagious. It is not like a flu test that actually tells you if you have active infection. It is disingenuous to call a person who has a positive PCR test a “new COVID case” since this test has NOTHING to do with active disease.

All the emphasis has been on masking and social distancing; TV is now inundated with PSAs encouraging us to wear our Big Orange masks. Its not as ‘sexy’ but we would do a lot more good in stemming this pandemic if instead of spending all our time and money encouraging masks, we encouraged people to carry hand sanitizer in their pocket and use it often.

Additionally, whether intentionally or from ignorance, the health department treats this pandemic as if we were all equally at risk. In reality, for instance, a person 90 years old who contracts COVID-19 has a 75% chance of having few symptoms or none at all and only a 10% statistical chance of dying – numbers comparable to someone of that age catching pneumonia or breaking a hip. If you are young and healthy there is no need for all these draconian measures.

Question: Why is the public – especially Jackson – not getting more input about COVID-19?

Answer: That’s a good question. When I was a resident I would sometimes be required to present my management of an individual patient to my peers at Grand Rounds. I was required to offer scientific evidence that what I had chosen to do fit into acceptable medical practice and standard of care and that it actually was doing some good.

Unfortunately, there seem to be no metrics by which local government is willing to be judged. Legitimate questions go unanswered, the “task force” meets behind closed doors and is not subject to public scrutiny, and all calls for a discussion with the medical community and other leaders fall on deaf ears.

Even if government doesn’t want to hear critical questions, arguments, and objections, it seems self-evident that they would want to get the data upon which they are basing their decisions out into the light of day to engender trust and quieten skeptics. So far we’ve only gotten pronouncements and pontification, not objective data.

Question: You have mentioned COVID-19 fatigue before. What do you mean?

Answer: It is human nature that people will only put up with so much. I do not believe that local officials including the health department are acting with malice. I just think they have found themselves in uncharted waters and because they have political authority have fallen into the trap of thinking that they actually ARE authorities on all matters dealing with COVID.

People are tired of “busy work” when it doesn’t make any sense. My fear is twofold. One, when someone eventually comes forward with a logical strategy that actually works, nobody is going to believe them because they have cried wolf for so long and, two, all of this focus on masks and social distancing may give those people at high risk a false sense of security that even though they have heart disease and breathing problems and are 85 years old, if they only put a bandana around their mouth and keep six feet apart, they may move about with impunity.

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Answer: At Physicians Quality Care we see far more people we have to talk down off the ledge because they have been consumed by their irrational fear of COVID-19 than people who are actually sick.

Government and media need to stop all the scare tactics and provide objective useful information instead of a daily bunch of numbers. People need to know exactly who is at high risk and who isn’t. Where is a 21st century FDR when we need him? Government needs to stop all this political posturing and grandstanding and admit the sky isn’t falling that the only thing we really do have to fear is fear itself.

Space here is limited but if your group, church, or civic club would like to know more about our politically-incorrect position and the data upon which our opinions are based, there is a limited number of speakers available who would be willing to come share information with your organization.

Send your inquiries to [email protected] and we’ll see what can be arranged.

(PHOTO: Dr. Jim Hoppers)